Alliston teacher named one of the best

Jodie Lang

Brad Pritchard

St. Paul's Catholic Elementary School Grade 2 teacher Jodie Lang recently won the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan (OTIP) 2012 Teaching Award for excellence (elementary category). The accolade is handed out to only three teachers across the province each year.

ALLISTON - As far as reputations are concerned, Alliston teacher Jodie Lang is viewed as one of the best in the local community. Now it can be said she's one of the best teachers in the province.

In late September, the Grade 2 teacher at St. Paul's Catholic Elementary School attended a special ceremony in Toronto where she received the Ontario Teachers Insurance Plan (OTIP) 2012 Teaching Award for excellence in the elementary category.

The award, organized by the Ontario Teachers' Federation but funded by OTIP, is doled out to just three teachers throughout Ontario each year. The award program was founded in 1991 but was brought back in 2004.

Lang, an Everett resident who has taught at St. Paul's for 14 years, is the first teacher in Simcoe County to win the accolade since the program returned nine years ago.

"It's thrilling, it's a huge honour to win this," Lang said. "It's very humbling because there are many, many, many wonderful teachers out there."

Lang, who actually found out about the award in June, was nominated by a parent of two former students.

The award selection process is rigorous and it includes interviews and many rounds of judging.

According to the award website, overall the accolade recognizes teachers that make a difference in the lives of students, who use innovative teaching techniques and demonstrate "a personal commitment" to lifelong learning.

As a teacher, Lang said she tries to venture beyond the "pencil and paper" and answering questions from a textbook approach.

"I try to keep things as interactive and hands on as I can," she said, adding she's always looking for new teaching ideas online or in books.

Some examples include a mapping project she's working on with her students. By allowing students to draw their own maps, students learn about their place on the planet, from a global and continental perspective, all the way down to where their house fits into the community.

"It's more hands-on for them and it brings the material to them in a real sense," she said.

Lang also makes use of songs as a more fun way to help her students learn, encouraging kids to personalize the lyrics so their individuality can shine through.

She also makes efforts to interact with students outside the classroom setting. At Christmas, instead of buying her gifts, she asks her students to collect money for a local family in need. She then takes the class out to a local retail store and helps them buy gifts.

"We go shop and I tell them the age of the kids and the gender," she said. "And we just go around and try to find things for them. Then I always take them for hot chocolate after."

Baxter resident Sara Roberts nominated Lang for the accolade.

Roberts' daughter, now in Grade 6, has a learning disability, while her son, now in Grade 4, has Asperger's syndrome.

"She did so many things to make it easier for them to learn," she said. "She would take so much time and effort to help them. She's just such a nice, caring and loving person."

She credits Lang for her teaching methods, recalling one example where she asked students to use their Nintendo DS handhelds to draw and share pictures as part of a class project. Another popular event she organized was a community meal event, where students were encouraged to make a dish from a family recipe and then bring it to school to share with their fellow classmates and their families.

This is the second time in the past two years Lang has received a major award.

In 2011, she was inducted into the Herald's South Simcoe Hall of Fame, partly for her role as a teacher, but more for her volunteer contributions with the Everett Parks and Improvement Committee.

"I love what I do and I am very passionate about my job," Lang said. "And I thank my family for allowing me to pursue my passion, and they support it."

For her award, Lang received a plaque of recognition, along with two cash prizes of $1,000, one for herself and one for her school.

Lang's award also marks a second education accolade for the school over the past two years.

In 2011, school principal Pattie Campbell was named one of Canada's most outstanding principals The Learning Partnership, a charitable organization and champion of the public education system.